I was recently watching a reaction video on activism and how people are looking for big solutions to our big problems such as climate change, social injustice, etc. I heard someone say that there are no solutions, just trade-offs. And it got me thinking...
Why?
In spiritual circles we often talk about how the external world is simply a reflection of our internal world. “As above so below. As within so without. As the universe so the soul.”
But something else occurred to me. Something I’ve never considered before. That those external issues that we are focusing on so much and trying to solve may be just another coping mechanism. Another way to distract from our own pain, fear, disconnection and inadequacies.
For many years I considered myself a “keyboard activist”. I wasn’t attending marches or hitting the pavement often. But I did post and share about certain causes, made calls to government officials and donated money.
Yet it sometimes felt more like busy work. The impact felt negligible at best. And in many instances, the “solution” being promoted seemed to create a whole new set of problems.
As I look into the landscape of activists and social justice warriors now, I’ve come to believe that the cause for these issues is our lack of awareness and introspection.
We spend a lot of energy looking outside of us for a solution; which can certainly be a worthy endeavor. But nowadays it i done from a place of detachment and, at the same time, a place of rage. There are a lot of intense and unexamined emotions expressed violently through a computer screen. That is the problem with social media activism.
Without looking within we end up bringing all of our own trauma, wounds and biases to our search for, and efforts towards, a solution. At which point, we seem to be more interested in assigning blame and are no longer in search of a harmonious solution. We have instead become slaves to our ego.
Harmony can only come from a place of awareness and conscious choice.
It wasn’t until I started doing my own work and working with others that I was able to experience impact in a tangible way.
I realized that everything, AND EVERYONE, else I was trying to fix outside of myself, was just a way to delay having to look at the skeletons in my own closet.
Don’t misunderstand me. I do think activism and external work is an important aspect of change.
However, my point is that without deeply examining our own internal wounds, needs and motivations we cannot engage with others in a way that prioritizes the best interest of humanity.
If we are unwilling to engage with opposing views, especially of those we dislike, with an open mind and heart, our approach and our outlook is tainted and can, in fact, be more damaging than helpful. No matter how well-intentioned we are.
Striving for change in the world should be synonymous with striving for awareness and personal development.
Heal Yourself... Change the World.
To learn more about how I can help you in your personal development journey click on the button below.
I am a Spiritual Life Coach & Emotional Healer who came to this work as part of my own healing journey. I am a Certified Practitioner of Teal Swan's The Completion Process (CP), a Certified ARCH Healing® Practitioner (C-AHP) and a Certified Soul Realignment™ Practitioner. I completed Dr. Gabor Mate's Compassionate Inquiry Masterclass. And, I am also a co-author of the Amazon Bestselling book Woke: A-ha's, Awakenings, & Illuminations on the Path to Conscious Living & ENLIGHTENMENT and several other works.